Question follow-through · 119802
Prisoners
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the prison population in England and Wales over the next five years.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Ministry of Justice
- Tabled
- 10 Mar 2026
- Target answer date
- 12 Mar 2026
- Answer
- 17 Mar 2026 · 7 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
More questions by this MP on Justice and policing
- Crown Court · 13 Mar 2026
- Crown Court: Staff · 13 Mar 2026
- Crown Court: Judges · 13 Mar 2026
- Sentencing: Gender · 18 Mar 2026
- Family Courts: Essex · 19 Mar 2026
Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.
Votes on this topic
- Opposition Day: Early release of prisoners · 7 Jul 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
10 Mar 2026
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the prison population in England and Wales over the next five years.
12 Mar 2026
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
17 Mar 2026
Answer published
On 29 January 2026, we published our second annual statement on prison capacity, which sets out the prison projections up to November 2032 and our assessment of them: Ministry of Justice – Annual Statement on Prison Capacity: 2025.
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Crown Court
13 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of available courtrooms currently sitting in the Crown Court estate, and whether additional courtrooms could be brought into use.
Crown Court: Staff
13 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is he taking to help ensure there are sufficient a) prosecutors, b) defence barristers and c) court staff to increase the number of Crown Court trials.
Crown Court: Judges
13 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to expand the number of judges authorised to sit in the Crown Court to address the backlog in criminal cases.
Sentencing: Gender
18 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119800 on Sentencing: Gender, what the evidential basis is for the conclusion that female offenders are typically lower risk to the public than male offenders.
Family Courts: Essex
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, how many Child Focused Courts are planned to operat
Family Courts
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, whether Child Focused Courts will represent additio
Family Courts
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, whether the earlier identification of risks to chil
Family Courts: Essex
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, when the first Child Focused Court is expected to o
Family Courts
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, whether Child Focused Courts will provide additiona
Family Courts
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, how many additional (a) judges, (b) magistrates, an
Family Courts
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, what training will be provided to judges and magist
Family Courts
19 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact